Henson says the Mariners will rue the day they signed Bradley, just like each of the seven teams before them who thought they could turn his anger issues around.

Until Friday, the Mariners were a beacon of light in a dreary offseason, one of the few teams willing to spend money to improve their roster. Now they are like a happy family that allows a dysfunctional uncle to take up in the spare room. Calamity awaits.

Henson does a nice job detailing Bradley’s history of problems. It’s a worthwhile read for those who wonder why Bradley has changed teams almost every year for the past decade.

Chicago Tribune beat writer Paul Sullivan calls Bradley “a one-man wrecking crew” in his story about the trade and notes that some players actually applauded after Cubs GM Jim Hendry informed the team he’d suspended Bradley last September.

Probably the most balanced perspective I found came from Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com, who explains that Bradley is a dour personality and looks at how he got sideways in Chicago’s fishbowl. Greenberg suggests he might do better in Seattle.

But Greenberg acknowledges the Silva-for-Bradley swap was a white-elephant deal for both teams and each is likely to wind up disappointed in the long run.

ESPN analyst Keith Law says the Cubs should have just released Bradley instead of trading for Silva, figuring Silva isn’t worth a spot on the 40-man roster.

Law’s piece is only available for espn.com subscribers, but he notes that Bradley usually produces when healthy and should increase his productivity in a better situation where he’s handled properly.

But he does raise concerns about Bradley’s outfield availability due to sore knees and says it’s fair to question whether he’ll keep himself out of trouble enough to justify his salary.

Law also sings the praises of Jack Zduriencik and notes “the widening gulf between teams that have embraced the sort of metric-based decision-making processes that have been the norm in the business world for decades, and those that continue to operate as if Bowie Kuhn was still commissioner.”